The present invention relates to an interface for use on an aircraft having a foldable wing, and to an aircraft comprising such an interface. More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention concerns an aircraft comprising a foldable wing, a control system arranged to control movement of the foldable wing, and a control interface for interfacing with the control system. The invention also concerns a control interface for interfacing with a control system for controlling movement of a foldable wing.
There is a trend towards increasingly large passenger aircraft with higher performance efficiency (for example fuel burn reduction), for which it is desirable to have correspondingly large wing spans. However, the maximum aircraft span is effectively limited by airport operating rules which govern various clearances required when manoeuvring around the airport (such as the span and/or ground clearance required for gate entry and safe taxiway usage).
To solve this problem, it is known to provide a passenger aircraft with foldable wings. The foldable wing typically comprises an inner region and an outer region, the outer region being moveable relative to the inner region between: a) a flight configuration for use during flight, and b) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations. In the ground configuration the outer region is moved (typically rotated) relative to the inner region such that the span of the wing is reduced. Thus the aircraft is able to still adhere to airport operating rules, yet benefit from the larger span in flight.
US 2014/0014768 describes an aircraft having a foldable wing tip. It also describes a control system for controlling the folding wing, and a control interface for interfacing with the control system. US 2014/0014768 describes a warning system for warning when the wingtips are not in a proper position based on the status of the aircraft, and the possibility of displaying the wingtip status, latch status, lock status and/or actuator status.
A problem with known control interfaces for folding wings is that they tend to be unduly complex and it can be difficult for the pilot to clearly determine the information being conveyed. Furthermore, some control interfaces suffer from being insufficiently intuitive and may not be very ergonomic; for example, it may be difficult for the pilot to readily determine the configuration of the wing tips and/or how to actuate the wing tips between the flight and ground configuration.
The present invention seeks to mitigate the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved control interface for a foldable wing on an aircraft.